#outofhatboxes

@beatingheart-bride

"Oh!"

Hot, joyous tears sprouted from Susannah's eyes as soon as the question left Philippe's lips, a shaky smile crossing her lips as she put a hand to her mouth: Again, despite knowing exactly what he was about to ask of her, she still couldn't help but be surprised.

"Oh, Philippe..." she murmured, eyes glistening still as she lowered her hand to rest on her pounding heart, wondering if it was as deafening for him to hear as it was for her, hearing it thrumming and drumming in her ears. "Before I met you, I...I never thought about the future. I felt like...I had no future, other than working at Mickey's. That my life would always be so...boring, so empty.

But you...you changed that! You came into my life, and brought so much light and energy back into it, and you've...you've made me the happiest woman in all of New Orleans! And to be your wife...that would make the happiest woman in all the world."

@nola-schuyler

"Oh!"

Well, that wasn't the response he'd been expecting, but Randall's smile didn't at all waver as he instead gave Nola's hand another squeeze, another small gesture of comfort, to assure her that she could tell him anything and everything. She needn't fear anything from him...which was a touch ironic, given what he did for a living, but still...

@beatingheart-bride

"Mickey's the hardest headed man I've ever met," Susannah snorted as she took a bite of sausage link. "No matter how many mistakes he makes, he never learns-I've seen that for myself."

Mickey often insisted he knew best, and seldom if ever was willing to hear otherwise...even when he'd been proven wrong time and time again. It was almost sort of impressive, really, his dedication to his stubbornness: It would be a quality Susannah and her father would've admired (after all, to be a Pace was to be stubborn), if Mickey wasn't such an ass.

"Pa used to think that was why he's never split up from his wife, who makes him miserable," she continued. "Doesn't matter how much he complains about her to anyone who'll listen, doesn't matter how much they argue and spat and yell, he won't divorce her, even though that marriage bed has long since grown cold."

Her father had met both his daughter's employer and said employer's wife, and didn't care much for either. He used to say, "Your mother wasn't perfect. She had her vices, and I won't lie and say it didn't put a strain on our marriage. But she loved me, and she loved you, and she wasn't at all a bad person just because of her addiction. But those two...they deserve each other, honestly."

"The day he learns from my leaving is the day he'll leave Min," she huffed, as she took another bite: She wished she could say that, one day, she'd buck up the courage to make a big show of her departure before they left to California, and that Mickey would get on his knees, apologizing profusely, begging her to stay, to make some sort of amends with all he'd done, but the chances of that were what they'd call "slim to none". He was just too stubborn, too proud, too foolish for that...

@beatingheart-bride

"Oh...!"

Susannah supposed that made the most sense...it was the easiest, most believable fib he could give to his parents, especially considering how enamored they were with the idea of their boy finally settling down. She was sure they'd have all sorts of questions about her "family" and the time he spent with them when he returned, but she had faith he'd be able to come up with a good cover story for the both of them.

"I...I do wish you were meeting my family," she found herself saying aloud before she could stop herself, as she continued to gaze out the window: She didn't have much of it, granted, but she still wished he could've met them nonetheless, particularly her father's side of the family.

"I...I wish you could've met my father," she lamented quietly, as the familiar New Orleans surroundings began to fade away as the sun continued its ascent into the sky. "He...he would've loved you, I think...he'd have admired your...compassion, your good heart, your grace...I think you two would've gotten along very well.

@beatingheart-bride

I am?

These two words, this simple little question, very nearly came out of Susannah's mouth before she stopped herself, reminding herself of Philippe's sincere nature. This was a man who would never lie to her, least of all about her appearance, and so she allowed herself to be flattered in that moment, cheeks turning a soft pink as she replied, "Th-Thank you, Philippe. You..y-you look v-very handsome!"

Not about to let him linger out on her front porch all night, she was quick to sweep him inside and into her little kitchen, where she had everything laid out, ready and waiting for them. She was also pleasantly surprised by the strawberry-creme bonbons he'd procured for them; they would make a wonderful dessert to cap off tonight's dinner.

"I-I...I have something for you too!"

Before they sat down to their meal (she would've liked to have just dug in, but perhaps giving him this gift would mitigate some of the butterflies in her stomach and let her actually enjoy dinner), Susannah hustled out of the room, only to then return with a small box-not ornately wrapped or even particularly eye-catching...unlike what was inside.

It was a hand-knitted sweater, made in a beautiful sky-blue yarn, laced with delicate honeycomb and blackberry patterns, very similar to the one Wilhelmina Pace knitted for her future husband many years ago (the only difference being was that the one she made was a soft buttercup yellow; Susannah had it tucked away in the cedar chest upstairs, along with many other heirlooms). It would be plenty warm to wear, once the cold snap eventually settled in.

@beatingheart-bride

"Who, me? Moi?" Doreen asked faux-innocently, pressing a hand to her chest as she dropped her jaw in mock surprise, as though she were shocked, absolutely shocked that Philippe would accuse her of such a thing, before flashing them a playful grin. "What would ever give you that idea?"

"Oh, no reason," Susannah smiled, to which Doreen giggled (oh, her friends knew her so well!), but while she continued to elaborate on her scheming to Philippe, Susannah herself found herself staring out the window, lost in thought. The wheels in her mind were already beginning to turn, her heart was beginning to race, and a little smile was dancing on her lips all the while.

How wonderful it all sounded...to return to Gracey Manor for one of Doreen's lavish, wonderful parties, and in the company of her dear friends, no less! It'd be wonderful to see Edward and Belle again, to see the mansion again, all under the cover of a mask...for once, she wouldn't have to be Susannah Pace, lowly seamstress, but could instead be a beautiful, anonymous maiden...

And that maiden would need a dress.

Trembling wore three different dresses to church, Susannah would only need one...she made a note to herself to go back to her mother's book of fables, and look to those very dresses for inspiration. This would be her magnum opus thus far, her most impressive piece of work to date: A gown fit for a fairy tale maiden.

@beatingheart-bride

"We are," Doreen replied with a smile, as she began to cut into her catfish. "We briefly considered Florida, I toyed with the notion of us moving into my family's summer home there, but...I just don't think it would work out, us moving there. I'll miss it, and I'll miss my home here in New Orleans, but I think it'll be a fresh start for both of us, we're looking forward to it."

"Have you told anyone else about your engagement?" Susannah asked, as Edward nodded, "My father knows, and Belle knows. Of course we would want both of them at the wedding, but I get the feeling they'd like to do more than that..."

"We're thinking they both may try to follow us out to California," Doreen elaborated. "We don't object to the idea, of course, it's just...surprising, I suppose!

I quite love the idea...Mr. Henshaw has always been so kind to me, and Belle, well...she's more of a mother to me than my own, and so to have them both by our side as we start this new chapter in our lives...it means the world to us."

A softness had crossed Doreen's face upon saying this, and Susannah couldn't help but smile softly, her eyes beginning to glisten a little as she wrung the skirts of her dress, saying, "W-Well...I think it's going to be a-a very packed carriage then, because, w-well..."

@beatingheart-bride

At this moment of reminiscense, Dorian and Elizabeth's eyes met, and their smiles mirrored one another as Elizabeth commented off-handedly:

"I think I'm beginning to understand that feeling."

Walking behind the two younger couples, unable to resist cooing over her sleeping granddaughter just as her mother was, June caught little snatches of the conversation, with certain remarks just happening to make her ears prick up a little more, though she never let her face show what she was thinking and feeling, to say nothing of refusing to give voice to these thoughts. As she had told Lon earlier in the month, she had her theories, but at the end of the day, whatever was on Dorian and Elizabeth Gracey's mind was theirs to announce, and she certainly wasn't going to impede upon that.

At the very least, when the party had made it back to the attic, and Randall and Emily quietly took the twins to their room for a nap, she took Elizabeth aside for a moment, venturing to say, choosing her words carefully, "Well, if you do ever feel sick again, if any nausea or soreness pops up again...please, don't hesitate to come to me. I'd like to help in any way I can."

Elizabeth studied June's face for a moment, remaining calm upon this suggestion being put to her-the matriarch's face was just as calm as her own, and there was a gentle sincerity in the way she smiled at her, to say nothing of something of a mischievous twinkle to her eye, a sort of subtle, knowing look that reminded Elizabeth of her own mother, and the looks she would give her one and only daughter when she knew something was afoot.

But even with that look, the mistress of Gracey Manor knew Mrs. June Pace was a woman she could trust, and so she flashed her an appreciative smile, saying, "If anything comes up, I'll be sure to look to you first. Thank you, June."